1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for receiving a broadcasting satellite signal and method thereof. More particularly, it relates to a program guide signal receiver for receiving and processing a program guide signal included in a digital broadcasting satellite (DBS) signal.
Korean Patent Application No. 7525/1995 is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
A broadcasting satellite signal receiver is a telecommunication apparatus for receiving a video image of a moving or stationary object transmitted at a remote distance without a significant time delay, transmitted either via an electromagnetic wave or an electrical signal. A television set generally receives and processes a television signal (hereinafter "TV signal") , and it can also receive a digital broadcasting signal (hereinafter "DBS signal") transmitted via a satellite, if a DBS signal receiver is installed in the television set.
The DBS signal includes a DBS video signal and a program guide signal. The program guide signal is a signal for a broadcasting service in which information about program content to be broadcast by a broadcast station is displayed using characters on a screen according to the channel on which the program will be broadcast and the time that it will be broadcast so that a user can freely watch a desired program by using a remote controller, etc. A digital broadcasting signal receiver (DRD 203RW) commercially sold in June 1994 by the RCA company, U.S.A. is known to be a product which includes a program guide service function.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating construction of a conventional satellite broadcasting signal receiver.
The conventional satellite broadcasting signal receiver includes a key inputting unit 2 which has a plurality of keys associated with a TV signal receiving mode, a DBS signal receiving mode and a program guide signal receiving mode. When a user depresses one of the keys, a key signal corresponding to the depressed key is input to a controller 6. A remote controller is a representative example of key inputting unit 2.
In the case where the DBS signal receiving mode is set by controller 6, a first tuner 4 receives the DBS signal, and a DBS decoder 10 decodes the received DBS signal. In the case where the TV signal receiving mode is set by controller 6, a second tuner 8 receives the TV signal, and a TV signal processing unit 14 converts the received TV signal into a signal which can be displayed. A storing unit 12 extracts the program guide signal included in the DBS signal, which is decoded by DBS decoder 10 under the control of controller 6, and stores the program guide signal as position data, channel data and graphic data.
The position data indicates the position on the display in which information about a program is displayed. Position data is determined by controller 6 according to the order in which the programs are displayed. The position data function is an interface between controller 6 and a user when the program guide is displayed. For example, if the user, using a remote controller (not shown), causes the cursor to move from program A to program B on a main screen, the position data corresponding to the position of information about program B on the display can be recognized and acknowledged by controller 6. Accordingly, controller 6 can acknowledge a status of the cursor positioned on program B. As a result, the DBS decoder 10 can tune to a channel corresponding to program B, or display channel information on a sub-screen as shown in FIG. 2B. The graphic data corresponds to a video picture of the program. That is, it corresponds to data related to a font, a color and a brightness of the program information to be displayed, as shown in FIG. 2A.
A video displaying unit 16 responds to the DBS signal decoded by DBS decoder 10 or to the TV signal processed by the TV signal processing unit 14. Video displaying unit 16 drives a cathode ray tube 18 (hereinafter "CRT") so that the decoded DBS signal or the TV signal is displayed on the CRT 18.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are drawings illustrating displays of the program guide signal displayed on the CRT 18 after being processed by the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2A is a drawing illustrating the program guide signal displayed in response to the user's selection of the program guide signal receiving mode, and FIG. 2B is a drawing illustrating the content of a program displayed in response to the user selecting from the displayed program guide signal, a desired broadcasting program.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B, operations for displaying the received DBS and TV signals on the CRT 18 are described below.
If the TV signal receiving mode is selected, the TV signal received by the second tuner 8 is processed to generate a signal adapted for display by the TV signal processing unit 14, and that signal is then displayed on the CRT 18 via the video displaying unit 16.
On the other hand, if the DBS signal receiving mode is selected, the DBS signal received by the first tuner 4 is decoded by DBS decoder 10, and the decoded signal is then displayed on the CRT 18 via the video displaying unit 16. At this time, if the user selects the program guide signal receiving mode by means of the key inputting unit 2, the controller 6 separates the program guide signal from the DBS signal decoded by the DBS decoder 10 and stores the separated data as position data, channel data and graphic data in a storing unit 12. Also, after the controller 6 reads the position data, channel data and graphic data which represent the program guide signal stored in the storing unit 12, the position data, channel data and graphic data read from storing unit 12 are output to the video displaying unit 16 via the DBS decoder 10. Then, the video displaying unit 16 drives the CRT 18 to display the program guide signal on the CRT 18, which may be displayed in the form of an initial screen, as shown in FIG. 2A. However it may be represented somewhat differently according to the content of the transmission from the broadcast station.
If the user selects a program corresponding to a particular channel and time from the program guide signal displayed on the CRT 18, as shown in FIG. 2A, with key inputting unit 2, the screen associated with the content of the selected program is displayed on the CRT 18. This process is known as confirming the contents of the selected program. For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, if channel 2 and a time of 8 o'clock are selected, the initial screen shown in FIG. 2A is erased and then the screen associated with the content of a "program D" is displayed. The program selected by the user can be the program which is being broadcast at the time the user makes the selection or it can be a program that will be broadcast in the future. In the case of a selected program which is being broadcast at the time of selection, the controller 6 controls the first the tuner 4 to tune to the channel so that the selected program is displayed on the screen. On the other hand, in the case where a program to be broadcast in the future has been selected, after the controller 6 reads the video data corresponding to a particular time which is stored in the storing unit 12, the video data is displayed on the CRT 18. The video data is included in the DBS signal together with the program guide signal.
If confirmation of the content of one program is completed through the above-described procedure, the user can confirm the content of other programs by utilizing the key inputting unit 2. However, the user can not select the desired program until the program content screen reverts to the initial screen for confirming program content, as shown in FIG. 2A, in order to confirm the contents of other programs. Accordingly, in the case of confirming the contents of a plurality of programs, there has been a problem in which the initial screen and the program content screen should be alternately displayed, thereby making it inconvenient for a user to use the apparatus.